Technology

Technology was pretty valuable for our group experience. We used the blackboard email feature for all of our email communication. In fact, all of our communication was by email. The only phone communication was done when we had group meetings and we would call someone who was late to see if they were coming in. All of our record keeping was done in Word.

As far as hindering us, my laptop has basically been dying on me for the last year or so. Landon has a much better laptop than I do so mostly all of the PowerPoints and Word documents were done on his computer. I finally got a new computer recently, but it's an iMac and not a laptop, because I'm so sick of laptops and how easily they can get damaged, overheated, etc.

Ethical Lapses

I think the day we went over these examples was the day I had my interview. So I will just talk a little bit about the dehumanizing language subject then talk about my ethical standards.

The topic we are talking about is immigration and how people use dehumanizing language and refer to them in terms of statistics ("illegals"). Whatever your opinion of immigration is, you have to realize that all people have a story behind them. One of the most unique experiences of my life was working at a Ruby Tuesday in Greenville a couple of summers ago with a guy about my age from Guatemala. He didn't speak a word of English and as one of the few people there who spoke any Spanish I was one of the only persons who talked to him regularly. He told me about how he came to Greenville, which was a combination of hitching rides and walking (at times across the desert), and how this was only one of his jobs, as he worked for both Ruby Tuesday and McDonalds full time, which added up to nearly 80 hours a week. He had no car, and was only able to get to work by carpooling with his roomates and friends. Also, most of the money he was making was being sent back home to his mother in Guatemala to help feed his family. He may not be in the country legally but every person has a story behind them that makes you understand that if you were in their position, you may be doing the same thing.

In my career I plan to have ethical standards for myself, but I think the question is where to draw the line. Everyone will encounter this question at some point in their careers. For example, sometimes when people make their resume or when they describe a project that they worked on they have to describe it and put it in context in a way that makes it sound more challenging or more impressive than it actually was. But, you're not going to impress anyone by saying that you were a valet for a restaurant, but it might sound better if you refer to yourself as an "automotive relocation technician." (Ironic ethics note: I got that lame joke from my uncle.) On one hand, you're telling the facts and not making anything up, but on the other, you're manipulating the language and sugar coating it because you're not sure if your resume is competitive enough in a crowded field. I think that the right way to go about this is that if there is any question at all that what you're doing is ethical, then you probably shouldn't do it.

Miscommunication

When I worked for my architecture firm as an intern, I had a miscommunication with one of the architects there for one project I had to do. He gave me a project where I had to take the existing plans and sections of a building, which were hand drawn, and get them digitized in CAD. The drawings were scanned and he recommended that I overlay the image of the drawing and use it as reference. However I thought he wanted me to simply trace over the drawing. The dimensions ended up being all wrong. I didn't know I was supposed to use the plans. In the end I fixed it. It was really a stupid mistake on my part as I was supposed to realize what I was supposed to do, but I had thought he didn't really need the dimensions to be right, that he just needed them rough. I learned the hard way that that is never the case in architecture.

My Business Writing Portfolio

....is located at https://sites.google.com/a/g.clemson.edu/tylers-business-writing-portfolio/

Presentations and Online Portfolios

1. Will had a really neat presentation about guitar tops. I had no idea that the type of wood used for the guitar has an effect on the sound the guitar produces. As a newcomer to guitar playing (and I have been practicing my new guitar a lot in the past couple months), It was useful information. I'm not going to say that my own presentation was my favorite (which would be arrogant) but I do want to note that I enjoyed going back into my picture file and seeing the map of Prague again. It brought back some fun memories and reminded me of how much I am DYING to travel.

2. My one experience with making an online portfolio was a mess! It was English 103, which was first semester freshman year. We had a good teacher but she was definitely nowhere as computer savvy an English teacher as Angie is. So she wasn't really able to help us navigate the blackboard app for making eportfolios, which was what everyone was required to use. We all eventually figured it out. I also remember hearing all these rumblings that we had to complete an eportfolio to graduate, which I was hearing from the english teachers but not from anyone in the architecture department. It had turned out that the class that started in 2005 did not have to complete one (at least the architecture majors), but 2006 archies do have to. So that was a relief.

Presentations

I enjoyed the presentation about vinyl records. I didn't know that people still made vinyl records or that there was any advantage to using vinyl records, other than being retro or stylish. Apparently, the sound is actually cleaner on vinyl records. After seeing the presentation I may actually be interested in getting a turntable and some records of some of my favorite classic rock bands. The vinyl records he brought in were effective props.

Another presentation I enjoyed was the "tournament" deciding who was the best athlete in the world, which was entertaining. Not only was I interested in who he thought was the best athlete in the world and why, but I enjoyed hearing his humorous reasons for why each person won each tournament round. He presented effectively for what he was trying to do.

Cover Letter Article

I found the cover letter article incredibly helpful. I've been writing lots of cover letters in the past two months and I think right now I have it 80 or 90 percent right, and now I can get it 100% right. Last month I was committing the mistake mentioned in the article of looking up a bunch of companies and sending a generic cover letter to all of them. Now I've gotten it more right, but I have been directing all of my letters to 'Human Resources' and not a specific person. A lot of these firms do not have someone listed on their website, and direct people to address their letters to "Human Resources," but now I think I should be calling the firms and asking them who is in charge of human resources or is the hiring manager, then sending it to that individual. I actually have started using the P.S., to say that I would be willing to take a temporary position with less pay to bridge me into full time work after the economic situation stabilizes.

I think that I have this figured out now...If I had only gotten it down a couple months ago!

Client Visit

In the presentation by our Redfern client, I was really interested with her take on making campus healthier from a planning perspective. It may be interesting to look at this project in terms of housing, meal plans, public space and student interactivity. It would be good to teach healthy habits freshman who have to live on campus so that they have those habits throughout college and hopefully the rest of their lives. This would include getting students involved on campus, not necessarily in clubs and activities but in social gatherings such as throwing frisbee on Bowman or going bowling at the union. When students interact in person instead of browse the internet or watch tv it makes them generally happier and healthier. It would also be a good idea to promote living on campus, which would get people to walk rather than drive, and doing so would require better housing. Doing a proposal for building new housing or upfiting existing housing would help Clemson housing make a better sell to the students to live on campus. We can also make freshman healthier by making their food source healthier, and Clemson has direct power over that in their meal plans. They should either get Aramark to serve healthier foods in their dining halls, or fire them.

Interview Mistakes

I have had a professional interview before. It was not for a full time job but a summer job, so I don't think the questions were as tough as what you should expect for an entry-level job interview. They were only taking me for the summer so I could get some experience and they could get some summer assistance, and they only needed to know that I was competent enough for that. I think my interviews generally went well. Generally the main things I was asked were to talk more about what was on my resume. I was asked where I went for my study abroad semester, and which cities were the best. I was asked about projects at Clemson. At my very first interview I was incredibly nervous because I didn't know what to expect. My hands were trembling as I flipped through my portfolio pages. I didn't get the job, but I probably wouldn't have anyway because they had already filled the position and I had an interview because of a communication error. But there is really nothing to be nervous about. I was never asked a 'greatest weakness' question or anything like that. Maybe it is different for other job descriptions though.

I agreed with most of the mistakes, but I don't know why it didn't mention the common mistake of not asking a question at the end of the interview. It did say that the questions you ask should be good ones, not questions like "does this company do so and so work," which you should know already. I thought that the last one about syncing your overall composure with the interviewer was a good one, ie joking around vs. serious, because your body language and mood will give the impression that you are like the interviewer, and people like people who are like them. The practice thing was good advice, and I think that the Clemson Career Center gives mock interviews to help you with that.

On another note, number 2 was "don't treat the secretary poorly," and the explanation looked like it was an explanation for a different question. I don't know whether that was an error, but I would like to hear the answer to that question because I didn't know that interviewees tended to treat the secretary poorly.

Free Topic: Economic Stimulus

I want to talk about this economic stimulus bill they are talking about a lot in the news, mostly because I have my own personal stake in this plan. I am searching for a job in the architecture industry. In a recession, or even a slight hiccup in the economy, architects are usually the first to feel it, because they are the first ones to act in the process of creating new facilities, and when plans for new facilities or renovations decline, they are the first to get laid off. Right now I am struggling to even get an interview because of the small workload of so many firms. If passed and implemented quickly, the stimulus plan, which funds transportation projects and school modernization, could put architects, engineers, and construction workers back to work.

However, I am sort of concerned about whether this bill, as is, will create a broad enough range of jobs. A lot of architects are concerned that a lot of the funding going towards these projects are, to use a phrase that politicians have been saying, "shovel ready" (ready to build but lacking in funds) and can put people back to work immediately. However, architects and engineers do not benefit from funds going to "shovel ready" projects. We also need to re-start projects that are "pencil ready" (partially through the design phase but incomplete) and begin new projects altogether. And we can all benefit from the long term results; more energy efficient buildings and better transportation and infrastructure. The US is the only industrialized country in the world without high speed rail. We rely too much on our cars, and the roads we drive on are falling apart. And, wouldn't it be nice to have an electricity grid that doesn't go out because of snowstorms? I believe our technology is advanced enough to achieve that. I'm not saying that the stimulus plan doesn't address these issues already, it's just a question of focus, and "how much."

Also, I'm concerned about the amount of money this bill allocates for tax cuts. I pulled this pie chart off of The New York Times' site:























See the light blue part there on the top right? The one that takes up about a third of the entire stimulus? Those are tax cuts. They plan to direct these tax cuts towards people in the middle and lower tax brackets, in hopes that they will spend more money at retail stores and stimulate the economy. While the middle class's recent restraint on spending money is part of the cycle that got us into this mess, I'm not sure that cutting their taxes necessarily means that they will start spending again. There is a complete lack of confidence among the middle class. They fear losing their jobs and are saving their money just in case they do. If they get tax cuts, there's a good chance that they may just save it or use it to pay their bills. This is what happened last year. Remember the "stimulus package" of 2008? The one that gave everyone somewhere between $300 and $1500, depending on marital status and number of dependents? I think that was a failed act for these reasons. It may have prolonged the stock market crash that happened in September, but it didn't stimulate the economy the way we hoped it would. I'm not saying that tax cuts won't work, but people need to have more confidence about their future in order to get the results we want.

That concludes my thoughts about the stimulus plan. Sorry if that bored you, but it's been a big point of concern for me lately.

In Ten Years

Before I describe what I want to be in ten years, let me follow you through how I plan to get there. I am currently (frantically) searching for a full-time job to start when I graduate in May. I'm looking for jobs at architecture firms primarily in big cities; Philadelphia (my home city), New York, Boston, Chicago. I'm also applying to a few firms in SC because that's where most of my networking is. Wherever I end up, I plan on working as an intern architect for a few years, as little as 2 and as many as 5, building up IDP units for architect licensure, before going to graduate school. I want to go to a good grad school program located in a big historic city; maybe UIC in Chicago, or UC-Berkeley near San Francisco, etc.

In case you can't tell by now, I really want the city to be a part of my life. I can't stand the dull isolation of the country or the suburbs, and I always prefer walking over driving. In ten years, I hope to be living in a major city, working for an architecture firm. I hope to be a licensed architect by then, working on urban design projects; transportation, public space, planning, commercial and corporate buildings, historic preservation and renovation. If I start a family I hope that I wouldn't have to give up the city aspect of my life; it would depend on whether the place I live would be a suitable environment for children.

That's the goal I have in mind as I look for my first real job today. I'm frustrated with the economy and the unfortunate timing of the recession (for me and others graduating), but when I feel doubtful I think of that perfect picture of where I will be in the future.

Web 2.0

The Web 2.0 refers to the new trends in the internet and what it has become as a result of us. With the rise of blogs, youtube, twitter, myspace, facebook, wikipedia, etc, average people now have a greater potential to leave a mark on the internet and connect to each other. The internet began as something made by the professionals at yahoo, google, and the other .com's. Now, it is becomimg a reflection of what all of us collectively want it to be. This is what I think the video means by "The Machine is Us)".

As far as "The Machine is Using Us", I think it is refering to the old roadblocks that exist in the internet that are keeping us from making the internet what we want it to be. This includes copyrights, privacy and interface design. The video said the internet is no longer just linking information, but people and their ideas. The internet is shifting from being a creature of the companies and their shareholders to being a creature of the people as a collective. The remnants from the old internet of the 90's are still "using us" to some degree, and that is why we need to "rethink everything."

I would advise people going into the workfore and people already in the workforce to keep this and mind and understand that the future of the internet, and by extention us, lies in greater freedom of communication and interactivity. The trend in many industries, following the trend in the internet, is towards greater transparency and interactivity with average people. We now see news organizations reading viewers' emails on air and product designers getting more direct feedback from their consumers. The the collective knowlege of people is a powerful tool, it can and should be harnessed many companies. The rise of Web 2.0 should not be viewed as an unfortunate loss for private investors, but as the beginning of a new and better chapter in the internet and the power of technology.

Introduction

My name is Tyler Cooney. I am from Philadelphia, PA and I am an architecture major. I decided to come to Clemson because I wanted to travel and live in different locations...not just the experience of living in SC but the experience of the semester I spent in Spain, which is a feature of the Architecture program at Clemson. Other than traveling I enjoy drawing and music...I just bought a new guitar for Christmas and hope to get really good at it in the next year or two.




This is me in Florence, Italy.